What Care is Needed After Laser of Genital Warts?
After laser treatment, you may:
- Have pain (like a burn) in the area that was lasered.
- Feel tired
- Feel sick (nausea)
- Have mild cramping
- Have light bleeding
During the first day after laser surgery, vulvar redness and swelling may occur. Pain may worsen on the second to fifth days after surgery. As the skin heals, it may itch at times. Complete healing of the treated vulvar skin happens within four to six weeks.
After Laser Procedure
- Rest on the day of surgery. Over the next two days, you may slowly increase activities until you feel back to normal.
- Take pain medicine as prescribed by your doctor.
- You can go back to work or school in one week. You may go back sooner if you feel up to it.
- Take any medications as prescribed by your doctor.
- Call the Gynecology office at 513-636-9400 to make a follow-up appointment. Let them know that this is a "post-op" visit. This visit will be within one to three weeks.
Caring for Lasered Area
- You should pee within four hours of surgery.
- Keep the area clean and dry. Leave the vulva uncovered at night. This means do not wear underwear overnight.
- Use soothing cold compresses for the area as needed. Apply cool gel packs for the first 12 to 24 hours. The cool gel packs should not be left in place throughout the entire 12 to 24-hour time period. They should be applied for 15 to 20 minutes at a time. Once they are taken off, do not put them back on for one to two hours.
- Use numbing medicine as needed (such as lidocaine two percent jelly or ointment).
- Drink plenty of fluids. Think about using a peri-bottle filled with water to help minimize the pee hitting the skin as you use the bathroom. This can also be used to clean the area after pooping.
- You can also clean the area with a salt-water solution after each time you go to the bathroom, if needed. The salt-water solution to be used is a 9% sodium chloride solution that can be found at pharmacies. It can be made by adding 1 tablespoon of salt to one quart of water.
- Apply Silvadene cream (NOT to be used if you have sulfa allergies), or Vaseline barrier for comfort after cleansing.
Call Your Doctor If:
- You have heavy or continued bright red bleeding.
- You are vomiting.
- You have a fever of more than 100.4 degrees.
- You have a lot of redness, pus or drainage from the area that was lasered.
- You cannot pee for six hours after the procedure.
- You are in a lot of pain that doesn’t get better with medicine.
